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Launched last month by British Consortium, Lunar Missions Ltd, the Kickstarter campaign has raised enough money that the team can now get started on its ten-year lunar endeavour.

The aim of the mission is to land a robotic probe on the Moon and drill down to a depth of 100 metres, which will allow the probe to access 45.5 billion-year-old lunar rock. A secondary aim of the mission is to engage more young people in STEM subjects and get them more interested in space. "Lunar Mission One has deliberately been launched as an independent venture which is not controlled by government agencies," said Ian Taylor, Chair of Lunar Missions Ltd, commenting on the team's Kickstarter success. "This project will be built using public support alongside the skills and expertise of some of the world's leading scientists, engineers and technologists. "Having achieved what we have today, we are celebrating the beginning of a ten-year journey of collaboration, innovation and exploration."

Thousands of people from more than 60 countries have supported the project financially and the Lunar Missions team has been supported by many high-profile figures from within the space industry and scientific community. Professor Stephen Hawking has sent his congratulations to those working on the mission for hitting their target.

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"Today they have achieved what are the first steps towards a lasting legacy for space exploration. Lunar Mission One is bringing space exploration to the people, and I have no doubt that young people and adults alike will be inspired by the ambition and passion of all those involved in the project. As a truly scientific endeavour, I wish it nothing but success over the coming years," said Hawking.

Over the past week, Lunar Missions has also made several appointments to its advisory board, including Mazlan Othman, the former Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), former Nasa astronaut Dan Tani and US space business entrepreneur Bob Brumley.

With over a day still to go, the Lunar Missions Ltd is now hoping to hit its stretch goal of £700,000. If it manages to do this over the next 30 hours, it will be able to fund the whole setup stage.